Thanks for the invitation, I just entered the chat group after traveling through Under One Person.

Chapter 182 Lotus Temple

As night fell, the area where the ancient temple stood was gently shrouded in a deep, dark blue veil. Moonlight, like fine threads, pierced through the sparse clouds, scattering across the temple's glazed tiles, shimmering with a faint, mysterious glow. In the group's vision, the temple's outline appeared and disappeared in the darkness.

Lotus Temple was shrouded in a deep, eerie atmosphere. The thin moonlight, like tattered cloth torn from ancient treetops, dappled the bluestone slabs in front of the temple steps, casting dappled shadows. The ancient temple walls were eroded by time, with mottled moss and vines entwined within them.

The temple gate was half-closed, and gusts of cold wind slipped in through the cracks, causing the candlelight to flicker and cast ghostly shadows. From deep within the temple, the faint sound of chanting could be heard, but it seemed to be torn apart by the wind, adding to the eeriness of the place.

The surrounding bamboo grove swayed gently in the night breeze, rustling softly like countless ghosts whispering. Occasionally, one or two night birds would fly across the sky, emitting a mournful cry that sent a chill down one's spine.

Beyond the gate, the main hall comes into view. The lintel above the main hall is adorned with exquisitely carved lotus patterns, so lifelike they seem to sway gently in the breeze, emitting a faint fragrance. On either side of the gate, stone lions stand majestically guarding this sacred place; each with a unique posture and sharp eyes, they exude an extraordinary aura.

Inside Lotus Temple, halls and pavilions are scattered throughout the courtyards in a well-organized manner. The architectural style of the halls is simple and elegant, with upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters.

"Xiaoyu is really brave," Cheng Yiyi remarked, sensing the eerie atmosphere around her. The animation was an embellishment; how could a cursed, monster-guarded ancient temple possibly look like an ordinary ancient building?

There were no lights at all, but the temple was taller than the surrounding trees, and it was a full moon night, so the moonlight illuminated everything in the temple.

When they reached the temple entrance, only Cheng Yiyi remained. Song Shuhang, Joseph, and the others had all been sent by her to different locations of magical items using the Eye of Aurora.

Joseph heads to the Shiva Temple to find the Shiva Temple Bracelet, which can transform a person into a one-headed, two-armed being. Song Shuhang, a rather unlucky fellow, goes to the ruins bearing traces of the immortal god Lan Caihe to search for the immortal god's armor.

The plot didn't give a detailed address for this thing, which meant Song Shuhang could try his luck. Song Shuhang himself was also quite interested in the Divine Armor; wearing it would greatly increase agility, defense, and strength, and also allow him to levitate.

Suspended in mid-air—that's exactly what Song Shuhang wants. Since he can't fly on his sword right now, experiencing low-altitude flight beforehand is quite nice. It's just a matter of whether Tyrant Song's fear of heights will still be there.

Ai Haibara, on the other hand, is going to find an item called the Gilani Emerald. This item doesn't have a positive effect, and whether or not it can be used well depends entirely on her own ideas.

This is a cursed gem. Anyone who buys it will be plagued by inescapable misfortune. The way to break the curse is to put it back in its original place. If the cursed person is taken away against their will, the misfortune will remain with that person until death. If the victim voluntarily gives it away, the misfortune will transfer to that person.

In a world that places more emphasis on Detective Conan, it would be interesting if Ai Haibara could find an opportunity to deliver this gem to a member of the organization, allowing her to eliminate some enemies without bloodshed.

Another reason is that she herself is more interested in these luck-related powers. Rick, also a scientist, can even find and study such metaphysical things, while Ai Haibara doesn't have that kind of ability, so she can only find physical objects to study.

"Hello! Is anyone there?!" Cheng Yiyi knew that there was a cursed person inside, and if she rashly barged in, the person would turn into a monster and attack the intruder. Cheng Yiyi was there to retrieve the Demon Scroll, not to find an opponent to fight.

With detailed intelligence, Cheng Yiyi naturally chose the most efficient way to act.

As her cries reached the Lotus Temple, a small, thin figure quickly appeared at the entrance. It was a little girl dressed very simply, like a mountain dweller. In fact, this little girl was a child from a nearby family who had accidentally entered the ancient temple and, after being cursed, was unable to leave.

Even though Cheng Yiyi arrived here earlier than Chen Long and his group in the original story, the overall timeline of the adventure is only one or two years old. This little girl, on the other hand, was trapped here five years before Xiaoyu arrived in the original story.

"Little girl, why are you all alone here?" "Hello, please don't enter this temple casually..." The little girl, Zhu Lin, briefly explained the curse here. After being cursed, Zhu Lin's appearance, and even her age, were probably frozen at this point. Zhu Lin already looked like this when she entered the temple five years ago, and she still looks the same now.

However, with the "strategy" that Xiaoyu and Chen Long discovered in the story, it wouldn't be difficult for Cheng Yiyi to obtain the Demon Scroll. By having Zhu Lin invite her into the temple, she would no longer be considered an intruder and wouldn't trigger the curse on Zhu Lin.

"Found it." Cheng Yiyi quickly found the demonic scroll in the library of the ancient temple.

"Is this what you came to this temple looking for?" Zhu Lin asked, looking at Cheng Yiyi, who was covered in dust. Although she had been trapped here for five years, she had hardly ever been to the library.

Zhu Lin was about the same age as Xiao Yu, and children that age wouldn't normally enjoy reading. Besides, the books here were all ancient texts, much more difficult and obscure than the content of regular textbooks. Zhu Lin basically never touched any of the books here.

Cheng Yiyi opened the demonic scroll, which was printed with dozens of rune patterns. These runes deconstructed the magical power of this world. Users did not need to possess magic power themselves; they could cast these spells simply by imprinting the runes on their bodies.

This runic magic bears a striking resemblance to the Tara emblem on the cover of the Encyclopedia of Magic. Perhaps the Tara image on the Encyclopedia's cover was printed using runic magic.

The biggest advantage of this runic magic is its low barrier to entry; anyone can use its power simply by imprinting the runes. However, this magical power is likely not permanent unless one truly masters the magic on the shapeshifting scroll.

However, upon closer inspection, Cheng Yiyi found that the shapeshifting scroll only contained magical runes and did not provide any knowledge about this type of magic. Nevertheless, while searching for the shapeshifting scroll in the library, Cheng Yiyi encountered many books related to runic magic.

If the person trapped here is well-educated, they could very well find some of the inherited books on magic within a few years.

Cheng Yiyi wasn't interested in these magical inheritances. She had a complete cultivation system and didn't need to learn magic. She only needed these readily usable magical items, which were enough for her transitional use in the early stages.

The runes on the shapeshifting scroll are somewhat similar to oracle bone script, but not entirely the same. Generally speaking, it's a relatively ancient hieroglyphic script, with each rune symbolizing a power, such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, primarily representing the forces of natural elements.

The advantages of rune magic are obvious, but its disadvantages are equally obvious: it has no personal aspect whatsoever, and anyone who falls into its hands can use it.

Cheng Yiyi recalled the runes on the energy scroll cast by Archmage Lope, guessing that the rune magic on the demonic scroll was the closest to the original version of runes. The energy scroll magic used by Archmage Lope, on the other hand, was a magic system that had been improved and optimized based on rune magic.

"Yes. Now that we've found it, it's time to resolve the curse on you." Cheng Yiyi said to Zhu Lin after putting away the demon-shaped scroll. The plot of the adventure world has changed drastically, and it's hard to say whether Xiaoyu and the others will still come to Lotus Temple. Cheng Yiyi knows how to break the curse, and naturally, she won't watch a little girl like Zhu Lin be trapped here forever.

"Can I really leave here? That's wonderful! Thank you, big sister." Zhu Lin was very excited upon hearing this. Seeing that Cheng Yiyi seemed quite familiar with the curse here, Zhu Lin couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.

Cheng Yiyi nodded affirmatively. Breaking the curse was simple; all they had to do was find the armor that could shield the curse in the Lotus Temple, and Zhu Lin could leave wearing it.

The curse on Lotus Temple was probably set up by the creators to prevent those with ulterior motives from harming the temple. The armor that can shield against the curse is very likely the creators' way of giving those who are accidentally trapped here a chance to survive.

(End of this chapter)